Nagpur: The agitation against Maharashtra govt’s decision to allow CCMP-qualified homeopaths to be registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) intensified on Wednesday, with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) threatening a nationwide strike and resident doctors escalating their statewide protest by withdrawing non-life-saving emergency services from Thursday.The public health system crisis deepened after Central Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) rejected govt’s appeal to call off the strike on the first day of the agitation. The association announced that resident doctors would further intensify the protest against the August 3 govt resolution (GR) permitting BHMS doctors with a certificate course in modern pharmacology (CCMP) to register with the MMC.Private healthcare providers also joined the agitation. Acting on IMA Maharashtra’s call, many private practitioners kept their OPDs shut on Wednesday and restricted services to emergencies. The IMA has now called for closure of non-life-saving emergency services from Thursday and warned of a nationwide agitation if the state govt fails to withdraw the resolution.Outpatient services were badly affected at Govt Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and Indira Gandhi Govt Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH) in Nagpur, mirroring disruptions across Maharashtra as resident doctors staged protests against the move.In a letter to MARD, medical education and drugs department secretary Dheeraj Kumar appealed for immediate withdrawal of the strike, saying patient care at govt medical colleges was suffering. He clarified that the “conditional registration” of CCMP-qualified homeopaths was not part of a new govt policy but was being undertaken by the MMC in compliance with court orders in pending cases. A separate register was being maintained for such registrations, he added.Kumar also assured doctors that CCMP-qualified homeopaths would not receive any parity, equity, or benefits available to MBBS graduates in the future.However, Central MARD president Dr Atharva Shinde rejected the appeal, insisting the agitation would continue until registrations were halted. “What was the hurry to start registrations when the matter is subjudice? The next hearing is on August 13. We met director of medical education and research but received no assurance on our demand. Now we expect the medical education minister to hold discussions with us,” he said.Medical education minister Hasan Mushrif could not participate in discussions with MARD representatives as he was in Kolhapur for the last rites of former MP DY Patil.In a statement, Central MARD said repeated representations and discussions with the govt had failed to yield a concrete decision. The association informed chief minister that it was escalating its statewide democratic agitation from midnight on Wednesday.From Thursday, resident doctors pursuing MD, MS and DNB courses across govt medical colleges and hospitals under both the medical education and public health departments will withdraw all routine clinical, academic and non-life-saving emergency services until further notice.MARD, however, clarified that no patient requiring life-saving treatment would be denied emergency care during the agitation. The association urged the govt to take an immediate decision on the long-pending demands of resident doctors so that normal healthcare services could be restored at the earliest.
